Monday

Feb 14, 2011 at 4:00 AM

By BOBBY WARREN

Staff Writer

RITTMAN -- Among the highlights of 2010 were finally resolving two longstanding issues: The installation of a sewer line to service the Apostolic Christian Home and a lawsuit over drilling water wells in Sterling.

City Manager Larry Boggs delivered his State of the City address in a new venue, the Rittman Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet, which was Feb. 3 at Hartland Party Center.

"I am happy to announce that after many years of debate and problems with the county and the city that the (Apostolic Christian Home sewer) line is now in operation and serving that organization," Boggs said.

In trying to reach an agreement to install a sewer line, the city had to revise its 201 plan, a map showing where it anticipates development in need of wastewater services. It had to go through a review of the Wayne County Planning Commission and county approval. A previous council had been divided over the issue, especially what to charge an out-of-city customer.

Boggs also noted city officials and representatives of the home have been in discussion about providing water service. He commended the commissioners and Milton Township trustees for supporting the waterline.

The Wayne County commissioners passed a resolution Jan. 19, 2011, granting Rittman the authority to provide water to the Apostolic home. In 2007, the commissioners established a water district in the unincorporated areas. The home is in an unincorporated area in Milton Township.

Boggs was also relieved to have a lawsuit filed by Sterling residents finally settled. Despite having won at every phase of the legal process, the plaintiffs were allowed to file the suit again under a different legal basis.

At first, the city was sued for being negligent. However, municipalities have sovereignty, thus Rittman could not be sued for negligence. Eventually, the city was sued for taking property without proper compensation. The court ruled against the plaintiffs because the statute of limitations had expired, but in its opinion indicated the case might be pursued through the doctrine of "continuing violation." The court did not make a decision on the continuing violation because the plaintiffs did not raise the issue during the legal process.

So, the third lawsuit was filed, and Northern District Eastern Division Judge David D. Dowd ordered a trial to begin, and a settlement was reached.

Boggs told the group because the final lawsuit was filed under a different legal basis, the city's insurance carriers were allowed "to wash their hands of handling our legal defense fees, and this litigation was now becoming very costly for our city."

The decision to settle was a business decision, he said. "Whether we won or lost, it only made sense to settle this complaint for both sides and put this issue to rest," Boggs added. "While neither side was totally happy about the settlement, it has now been resolved and the city can focus on other areas of our water system."

The city settled for $150,000, and it did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Boggs also said 2009 and 2010 were "difficult and scary years" due to the uncertainty of the economy. However, Rittman was fortunate that its unions made economic concessions.

"This not only made our jobs easier to calculate potential shortfalls, but it gave the residents of Rittman some stability with the current services that they were used to receiving," he said. "Fortunately, with excellent budget management by our finance department, department heads and the concessions given by the unions, we were able to not only gain slightly on our general fund carryover balances, but our revenues were slightly up over the past two years."

The city is not out of the woods yet, Boggs said, but "I just wanted everyone to know that we have excellent employees that are willing to assist management in solving problems and getting the job done."

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or e-mail bwarren@the-daily-record.com.

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